A Podcast Runs Through It

Since 1920, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), a bi-partisan organization, has fought tirelessly to protect the rights and liberties enshrined by our Constitution to every individual in our country. In the 100 years since its founding, the ACLU has expanded to include over 4 million members and supporters and has chapters in all 50 states, Puerto Rico, and Washington, D.C.

In this, our second remote interview, we talk with Alex Rate, Legal Director for the Montana chapter of the ACLU. We begin our conversation with a discussion about the case brought by the Montana ACLU regarding the threat of COVID-19 to Montana’s incarcerated population. Also discussed are important cases involving indigenous voter rights, the Border Patrol detaining two women for speaking Spanish, and an LGBTQ transgender rights case. We also talk about a shocking case involving fully armed bounty hunters bursting into the bedroom of a sleeping Montana family in the wee hours of the morning to collect a $115 bond. Perhaps most alarming, we discuss the cases involving the Keystone XL Pipeline construction in Montana and the secret and weaponizing preparations state and federal agencies are taking to treat protesters as terrorists. We also talk about how the ACLU chooses which cases to pursue, and in the Trump era, there are certainly a great deal of challenges to our Constitutional rights to keep up with.

“So long as we have enough people in this country willing to fight for their rights, we’ll be called a democracy.” - ACLU founder Roger Baldwin

To learn more and to join ACLU MT : https://www.aclumontana.org/

In this, our last live interview before COVID-19 and social distancing required us to go remote, we sat down with John Clayton, to talk about his latest book, “Natural Rivals”, subtitled “John Muir, Gifford Pinchot, and the Creation of America’s Public Lands.” John shares how he came across an account of Muir and Pinchot camping together in 1896 at Lake McDonald in what is now Glacier National Park. He realized they were not fighting but were collaborating on finding a solution to the crisis of how to define and protect the idea of public lands, national parks, and national forests. A political battle was raging. Corruption and dysfunction in government were rampant. Robber barons were building political and financial power at the expense of human and natural resources and were degrading the environment. Scientists were being ignored. At the same time, the public was growing more and more alarmed about the loss of natural habitats, wildlife, and resources. Vast expanses of the nation’s forests were being cleared at an unsustainable rate, the passenger pigeon had gone extinct and it looked as though bison would soon follow. It was at this time that the two men, in spite of their differences, came together to form an alliance that would result in the 1897 Organic Act, a law that established the legal idea of public lands and out of which the U.S. Forest Service would emerge. Describing their different philosophies, John says, “Preservation and conservation have a lot more in common when both are set against the wanton exploitation of natural resources for immediate private gain. But they also have some conflicts with each other if you are going to preserve a spot in nature as Muir would have encouraged you to do. It would look a lot like wilderness.” We talk about how the conflict of preservation -vs- conservation continues to this day, with wildly varying views about public land use and expanding wilderness areas. Complicating the argument, the Trump administration has placed a man known for wanting to get rid of all public lands, William Perry Pendley, at the head of the BLM, the very agency that is charged with protecting and managing them. We also discuss the parallels between the division created in the crisis of the 1890’s and what our country is facing today with the climate crisis and the misery it will cause on a global scale. Again, corporate greed and wanton environmental degradation is rampant. Governmental corruption and dysfunction prevail. And again, science is being ignored.

In this, our first remote interview, we talk with Raph Graybill, Chief Legal Counsel to Governor Steve Bullock who’s work on the Governor’s Coronavirus Task Force involves the Governor’s Directives in response to the crisis such as closing schools and businesses, stay at home directives, all mail ballots in the June primary, and other actions necessary to mitigate the effects of Covid-19 in the state. In this interview Raph gives us a look inside the decision-making process that informs the actions Governor Bullock has taken to respond to the coronavirus pandemic. He explains how, prior to declaring a State of Emergency in Montana on March 13, 2020, Governor Bullock established the Coronavirus Task Force. The Task Force is made up of representatives from the Department of Military Affairs (the agency that runs both the Montana National Guard and the Department of Emergency Services), the Department of Public Health and Human Services, the Labor Department, the Department of Education, the Montana Chief Medical Officer, epidemiologists, doctors and other public health officials. He describes how the Governor’s office and various Montana agencies have been monitoring the coronavirus since it emerged out of Asia, began spreading across the globe, flared up in western Washington state, and continued to spread across the United States. By setting up the task force in advance and through surveillance gathering from the time Covid-19 first emerged, the Governor’s Coronavirus Task Force has set up a structure to quickly respond to the issues this pandemic presents to the health and safety of all Montanans.

For a comprehensive overview of the Governor’s Coronavirus Task Force and to get the latest information regarding Covid-19 visit the website: https://covid19.mt.gov/

Note: For more on Raph Graybill listen to APRTI Episode 17, February 17, 2020, Raph Graybill, Candidate for Attorney General.

Editor’s note: When this interview was recorded on 03/12/20 Montana had just reported our first case of Covid-19. Since then we’ve entered a strange new world of school and business closures, social distancing, stay at home orders, hundreds of cases of Covid-19 and sadly, deaths. Please take care of yourselves and others by following Covid-19 public safety protocols and please stay informed.

Montana Conservation Voters (MCV) has been the leading guardian of environmental and conservation values in Montana for over 20 years. Over 70% of Montanans - Democrats, Republicans, and Independents - identify as conservationists who care about public lands, clean water and clean air, and MCV serves as their political voice and advocates on their behalf. We sat down with Executive Director, Aaron Murphy, and Deputy Director, Whitney Tawney, for a lively conversation about the work MCV is doing through their various branches. The MCV Education Fund, a non-profit, non-partisan organization focuses on involving citizens in the democratic process by educating voters about critical conservation and environmental issues, promoting non-partisan civic engagement, and holding elected officials accountable at every level of government from the courthouse to Congress. Their PAC’s, MCV Action Fund and MCV Federal Action Fund work to elect, support, and hold accountable candidates running for and holding elected positions who support protecting the environment and our public lands heritage. We talk about how voters can use their MCV Legislative Score Card to see how their elected officials follow through on their commitment to protecting public lands and the environment before casting their votes. We also discuss the Land and Water Conservation Fund which collects revenue from offshore oil and gas developments and funnels those critical funds into public lands through the Interior Department. While Montana’s federal congressional delegation all refer to themselves as champions of public lands, Senator Tester has worked to insist Congress allocates full funding, while Senator Daines and Congressman Gianforte have failed to stand up for Montana’s public lands. We also discuss MCV’s Montana Engagement Project which beginning in spring of 2020 will be conducting a field program, “The Keystone Canvass”, a boots on the ground operation in Eastern Montana which will focus on the impact of the Keystone XL Pipeline on communities along the route and will work directly with voters to address their concerns and build a conservation voter movement. A Podcast Runs Through It is proud to say we fully endorse Montana Conservation Voters and encourage our listeners to join their organization in the fight to protect Montana’s clean water, clean air, and public lands.

Link to MCV’s Top 10 Projects of 2019- 2020: https://youtu.be/zcguZ3TmCpM

Montana candidate for governor, Whitney Williams sat down with us to talk about why she decided to enter the arena. She talks about her experience as founder and CEO of williamsworks, a strategy and management consultancy where the motto is “We believe anything is possible. And that we can improve countless lives by partnering with extraordinary people to help realize their most ambitious visions.” She says her business experience gives her a unique perspective in management and problem solving. By bringing everyone to the table, including unlikely allies, and asking the right questions while listening to all concerns to find common ground, she says she has what it takes to solve the problems challenging our state. She talks about growing up in a household with a rich history of political service. Her father, former Congressman Pat Williams, was Montana’s longest serving member of congress. And her mother, Carol Williams, was the first female Minority and Majority Leader in the Montana Senate. Whitney says her politically influenced background, her business experience, and her determined commitment to find solutions to the problems Montanans are facing give her a unique perspective to take on these challenges. We discuss several issues including healthcare, transparency in drug pricing, education, moving to a clean energy future, universal pre-K, pathways to better paying jobs, protecting public lands and promoting Montana’s outdoor industry, affordable housing, and money in politics.